Rumors spread earlier this week that legendary director Quentin Tarantino would meet with Trek film producer J.J. Abrams to discuss helming the franchise's next big-screen adventure. Phasers were set to stun, because nobody saw this coming; Tarantino isn't known for science-fiction, and he nearly always works on his own original concepts, not established cinematic universes. It seemed more improbable than beating the Kobayashi Maru, and the news sparked countless "Klingon, motherf**ker, do you speak it?" jokes across the internet.

But according to Deadline, the meeting was a huge success. Both J.J. Abrams and Paramount Pictures are cool with R-rated Trek, perhaps due to the unexpected box office success of Deadpool and Logan. "That rating was crucially important to Tarantino," Deadline reports (because of course it was).

The Revenant screenwriter Mark L. Smith is apparently the frontrunner to write the script from Tarantino's story concept. First, though, Tarantino is working on a film about the 1969 Charles Manson murders.

There's no word yet on whether Tarantino's version of Trek would feature Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto — they're contracted for a Star Trek Beyond sequel — or a totally different crew. If they do appear, though, Michael Madsen is totally cutting off Spock's pointy ears, Reservoir Dogs-style.